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Show THE Page 12 OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume XIII Issue VI January 1, 2006 SWINEVILLE cont. from page 11 disease too. So terrified of the disease were the people of the Valley that not one person would volunteer to help. In spite of the loving care given him by his family, David died on November 6, 1876. Because the people were so frightened of the disease, they denied the Froerer family the right to use the public cemetery in Eden. The Froerer family decided to start their own cemetery on a little hill about one hundred yards south of the Lester Froerer home. Fred Froerer and his son dug the grave at the site, making a box from rough lumber. The box was placed on a skid and pulled by one horse to the burial site. Elizabeth, the mother, followed as the only mourner. Several children belonging to the Moffet and Froerer families died of this dread disease and were buried in what we later called “the ee little cemetery” in our sheep pasThe cemetery was located on a small hill well above the high water table. It was a short distance south of the Froerer home and a stones throw away from Dead Mans Pond. Like most pioneer cemeteries, this one was sadly neglected. A picket fence staggered around the perimeter and did its best to keep out intruders. Purple flags, to me a symbol of death, covered the graves and competed fiercely for living space, yet they bloomed year after year in great profusion. The prairie dogs, showing no respect for things sacred, dug their burrows inside the cemetery fence. Badgers, in pursuit of the prairie dogs, desecrated the graves with their tunnels and mounds. If my memory serves me well, there were six or eight people buried here. Four of the graves, remember, were marked with granite or marble slabs. The rest were marked with wooden markers, unreadable even when I was a child. The wooden markers were covered with green and orange lichens as though nature was trying to provide a little color for the children in this forgotten cemetery. I spent many hours looking through the pickets of the cemetery fence reading the inscriptions and contemplating the great mysteries of life and death. Under each marker was a girl or a boy like me who had played Run Sheep Run, laughed and cried, loved their mothers and fathers, and, now, because of death, were confined to this little plot of ground forever. It was very hard for me to accept death. Why, I thought, couldn’t people be like a rock, or a mountain, or a stream, and live forever? I did not know then that everything on the earth has a beginning and an end. Even a rock is not immune to the ravages of time. I always thought of the cemetery as a desolate, lonely place. My sisters and I occasionally picked wild flowers and, with them, decorated the graves. To my knowledge, no one else ever visited the graves. The birds, the animals, and the flowers made the pasture a happy, interesting place. I seen enough blackbirds in the rushes below the cemetery to make a thousand of the king’s favorite pies at four and twenty blackbirds per pie. They entertained me for hours with their shrill cries for Dr. SH-I-E-LDS!_ Dr. S-H-I-E-LDS! (I know that’s what they said because my mother told me so). I have watched with glee the many aerial battles that were fought over the slough as the black-birds successfully drove their big brothers, the crows, from the nesting grounds. They would dive bomb, peck, and pull feathers from their enemies—the crows and magpies—as they noisily drove them from the battlefield. | was often dive bombed myself by the little black warriors but they always stopped short of hitting me. Many varieties of waterfowl nested in the rushes and quacked or honked or quarreled throughout the sum- mer months. The most interesting bird in the pasture was the Killdeer. This stilted little bird found its food in stream and pond but preferred a gravel hill upon which to build its nest. The mother spent little time or energy in nest building. She scratched a small hole in the ground, lined the outside with a few small rocks, and covered the bottom with dry grass or leaves. She was now ready to get on with the business at hand. She laid two brown speckled eggs almost as large as she was. I liked to find the Killdeer’s nest ey to show her that she could not fool me. As I approached, she would leave her nest, fall on the ground, and flop around as though she were mortally wounded. would get to her feet, dragging her wing on the ground and try to lure me from the nest. If | made a sudden rush for her she would fly away cackling and screaming only to land and start the ceremony over again was not fooled, however, and could usually find the nest where I had first seen the bird. I was always careful not to disturb the nest. Because the area around the cemetery and the land several hundred feet to the west was well above the water table, it became a prosperous prairie dog town. These furry little creatures were a joy to watch. Stand by the cemetery fence and whistle and you were rewarded by the appearance of dozens of these little subterranean dwellers on the mound above their burrows. Then, in unison, so it seemed, they stood at attention not moving a muscle. They were often called peg squirrels because they resembled pegs that had been driven into the ground. There they stood, whistling a warning to friends and neighbors until the enemy either left the scene or made a movement toward them. If I made the slightest move, they went scurrying into their burrows only to reappear seconds later to keep the enemy under surveillance. As a child, I hoped that the birds and animals brought to the spirit children the same pleasure they gave to me. thought often of the kids whose bodies rested on the little hill in our sheep pasture. In the early 1930’s before the town was covered by the water stored in Pineview Reservoir, the occupants of the cemetery were moved. The graves were opened and the remains, what little was left after 60 years, were moved to a new resting place in the Huntsville cemete There were so many things to do and see in Swineville, that it was a continuous parade of exciting activities; hunting fishing, swimming, skiing, and exploring occuied our leisure time. To me, Swineville was an interesting and exciting place for a boy to live and if we get another time around after this life, I think I will choose to spend it in Swineville. * Taken from Lillian Froerers History of the Froerer Family. WATER RATES cont. from page 1 rates will have no discriminatory effect. he issue of excessive rates was also discussed at the hearing. Four individuals from the community spoke to Judge Goodwill. Judge Goodwill commented in the order that customers who routinely use more than 20,000 gallons of water per month will see a significant increase in their water bill. Wolf Creek’s establishment of conservation rates was initiated by the Department of Environmental Quality as a requirement for a loan to expand Wolf Creek’s secondary water system. In 2002 through 2004, Wolf Creek obtained the assistance of the Utah State University and the Department of Environmental Quality in establishing its conservation rate structure. Wolf Creek provided the results of conservation studies to the Division, the PSC, and the public during hearings held in 2004. The Division, in its written recommendation to the PSC dated November 18, 2005, declared their support of water conservation, and for the consumption levels (tiers) proposed by Wolf Creek. Judge Goodwill concluded that the PSC is obligated by law to set rates intended to ensure safe, reliable secondary water service at a reasonable price that permits Wolf Creek to earn a reasonable rate of return. The Division’s analysis indicated thatWolf Creek Water servancy, Inc. will continue to incur annual financial losses. It will be necessary for the parent company, Wolf Creek Properties, LC, to absorb these losses as it has done in the past. Wolf Creek acknowledged in a letter to Judge Goodwill dated December 8, 2005 that its staff is willing to work with any customer to maximize their water efficiency use. This information is available to any customer and can be obtained by calling Wolf Creek Conservancy, Inc’s main office in Eden, Utah. RADON cont. from page 10 if you've lived with a radon problem for a long tim MYTH: Short-term tests can’t be used for making a decision about whether to fix your home. FACT: A short-term test, followed by a second short-term test, can be used to decide whether to fix your home. However, the closer the average of your two short-term tests is to 4 pCi/L, the less certain you can be about whether your year-round average is above or below that level. Keep in mind that radon levels below 4 pCi/L still pose some risk. Radon levels can be reduced in most homes to 2 pCi/L or below. This information came from the following resources. Readers are encouraged to review these sources for additional information on radon. http://www.radongas.org/Description_of Ra don_Measurement_Service.htm http://www.epa.gov http://www.radiationcontrol.utah.gov/ http://www.utahsafetycouncil.org/ oy Utah’s Indoor Radon Program The primary goal of the Utah Division of Radiation Control’s (DRC) Indoor Radon Program is to reduce the level of indoor IMPACT ANALYSIS cont. from page 1 ~ Municipal power facilities ~ Roadway facilities ~ Parks, recreation facilities, and trails ~ Public safety facilities open space, The draft analysis completed by Wikstrom includes applicable fee rates for trails, storm drains, wastewater, and roadways. The Weber Fire District already has an impact fee program established whereby funds are assessed and collected. The draft impact fee analysis has broken down maximum impact fees that can be legally assessed for each of these areas for both unincorporated Ogden Valley and unincorporat ted western Weber Count instance, a chard in the draft analysis indicates that the maximum impact fee for the construction of a new single family residential home on an acre in Ogden Valley to be charged for roadway development or improvements would be $455, and $948 per 1,000 square feet of commercial development. For storm drains, the cost would be $1,619 for single family residential and $5,506 per commercial/industrial acre. Again, this is only the maximum fee the county could charge, not that actual fee that may be set by the county. When compared to other counties in northern Utah, Weber County’s possible impact fee rates are relatively conserva- tive. The county is expected to hold workshops and public hearings on the proposed adoption of impact fees sometime in January or February of 2006 To view a complete draft copy of the Weber County Impact Fee Analysis, visit <http://www 1.co.weber.ut.us/planning_com mission/documents/\ WEBERCOUNTYImpa ctFeeReportv3.pdf> For more information, you may also contact the Weber County Planning office at 399-8766. radon in the state of Utah to concentrations less than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) action level of 4 pCi/L (pico-Curies per liter) The Radon Program The Radon program is partially funded by the State Indoor Radon Grant from the EPA. The Division of Radiation Control, in addition to responding to telephone inquiries from the public, provides education through public outreach, conducts ‘’target area” indoor radon surveys, and individualized assistance to homeowners and public agencies concerning all aspects of the indoor radon hazard problem. The Indoor Radon Program focuses its efforts in the following five areas: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Radon resistant construction Real estate disclosure and testing Local government coalitions Public school testin Radon awareness (testing & mitigation) Philip Griffin, Program Coordinator Salt Lake City Number: (801)536-4250 Radon Hotline Number: (800)458-0145 Fax Number: (801)533-4097 E-mail: pgriffin@utah.gov. Note: Jolene Weinstein is a realtor with Keller Williams Success Realty. r more information, contact Jolene at 801-690-2211. More Photos & Virtual Tours at www. Buy-Utah.com WOLF CREEK- 4972 E. ASPEN LANE Beautiful log home on secluded wooded lot, yeararound stream. 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